A non-Muslim man was caned under the Islamic law on Friday for selling alcoholic drinks, after he chose the public caning over a prison sentence as the punishment for his crime.
According to local officials, the man was one out of the ten offenders publicly caned for various crimes under the Qanun Jinayah (Islamic Criminal Code Bylaw).
“There were 10 people caned today. One of them was for a khamar (alcoholic drink) case that involved a non-Muslim man,” said Banda Aceh city head of Islamic Sharia Law, Evendi, as quoted by detik.com.
The man was sentenced to 36 whips, but the punishment was momentarily stopped on the tenth strike after he asked for respite because of the pain. However, after being given some mineral water and having his health checked, the caning continued.
The Qanun Jinayah law in Aceh is a law based on Islamic conjunctions, but it also applies to residents of other faiths. However, non-Muslims are given some leniency. They are given the option to choose from a number of imposed punishments stipulated by the law for their respective crimes.
This was the third time a non-Muslim resident has been caned for violating the Islamic law in Aceh. Previously in March 2017, two Buddhist men of Chinese ethnicity were caned for gambling. In 2016, a Christian woman was also caned after being found guilty of selling liquor.
Photo courtesy of Agence France-Presse
For further reading on Aceh caning punishments, click here.